Australian Sports Commission chairman
John Wylie
has challenged Olympic sports to make themselves more compelling to potential sponsors and increase revenue that will help to win more gold medals.

The commission on Friday announced changes to the way the federal government will distribute the $170 million in annual funding to elite sports, including the diversion of funds to those seen to have more chance of international success.

In return, those sports will need to have more stringent business models, including best practice high-performance plans and governance, administrative and financial standards.

The ASC will also expect sports to pursue more revenue sources, such as commercial, philanthropic and sponsorship opportunities.

Wylie cited Yachting Australia’s patrons program, headed by Melbourne business identity John Calvert-Jones, which raised more than $1 million for the sailing team before the London Olympics, as a method sports could use to tap into funding from the business sector.

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“If you looking at funding to sports the ASC funds, the percentage they get from commercial sources has gone from 20 per cent to about 3 per cent since 2000," he says.

“There are simple things these sports can do to improve their offerings to potential sponsors.

“One of them is to put their athletes and coaches on contracts so there a much better and stronger product the sports can offer sponsors."

Wylie cited the Aquatic Super Series in Perth next month to be sponsored by
BHP Billiton
and in which Australia will compete against Croatia, South Africa and China – the latter two containing considerable investments for BHP. “That’s an example of the lateral commercial opportunities that exist," Wylie says.

He also praises billionaire
Gina Rinehart
’s recent decision to provide Swimming Australia with $10 million in funding over the next four years through her Georgina Hope Foundation.

“We think there is a very substantial opportunity for sports to attract significant philanthropic funding.

“There’s a lot of people out there with significant means who are passionate about sport and want to see Australia succeed."

Sports Minister
Kate Lundy
says the Australian Sports Foundation, to which tax-deductible donations can be made, will be “reinvigorated" and that the women’s sports unit within the ASC will help attract sponsors to women’s sport.

The ASC’s Australia’s Winning Edge 2012-2022 plan released on Friday also has details of spending initiatives, including more money to support athletes and coaches.

It also describes the competitive innovation funding pool, where sports will tender for $1.5 million annual funding for technology-related initiatives designed to boost coaching or on-field performance.

Under the plan, which targets a top five position on the medal tally at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games and the production of 20 world champions every year, the Australian Institute of Sport will be responsible for controlling funding recommendations to the sports.

However, the sports will gain greater control of coaching and talent identification programs.

The AIS will also host an annual “sports draft" camp where athletes from other disciplines can be tested on their ability to switch to Olympic sports.